Phil Mushnick at the NYPost has an article telling about his own recent experience flying out of Newark, in which a TSA agent appeared to let people cut to the front of the security line for a “tip” of around $10[2]. The actual amount wasn’t entirely clear, other than that she got quite upset — publicly — when only given $5. Basically, she walked around offering people a wheelchair, which she would use to bring them to the front of the line, the whole time letting them know that she expected something in return.

Of course, the TSA at Newark has a bit of a history of problems. In just the past two years, a TSA agent was arrested for avoiding security[3]. A TSA supervisor was arrested for working with another TSA agent to steal money from passengers[4], and just a few months after that, another TSA agent was arrested for stealing $500[5] from a wheelchair-bound passenger.

All of this makes you wonder if the TSA is really making us safer… or exactly the opposite. If TSA agents are looking for the next opportunity to make or steal a dollar, rather than keeping people and planes safe, it would suggest that we’ve got a problem.